European Markets for Naturally-Reinforced Plastic Composites

Frost & Sullivan has added a new report "European Markets for Naturally-Reinforced Plastic Composites" to their offering. Due to escalating oil prices, any technology that reduces the dependence on oil has a fighting chance. Although naturally reinforced plastic composites (NRPC) have plastic in their composition, their use limits the amount of it necessary to manufacture a certain product. There have also been efforts to decrease the amount of oil-derived content. NRPC are going to remain a competitive technology to replace oil-based materials, as wood and natural fibre prices are unlikely to grow faster than oil prices. Not all 'green' technologies are cost-competitive, like renewable energy, which remains fairly expensive. This factor is, therefore, a strong driving force in the NRPC market. NRPC help lower the dependence on oil while remaining cost-competitive. The current penetration of wood plastic composites in decking and natural fibre composites in the automotive segment remains below 10%, with further potential to increase it. However, users of NFC have concerns over the available capacity and the effect of a drastic reduction in European agricultural subsidies. WPC products vary greatly in quality and without a global standard, consumers have difficulties distinguishing low-quality products from top range ones. Both the environmental benefits and cost competitiveness of NRPC give these materials the capacity to replace plastic or non-renewable reinforcements. The main market segments for NRPC in 2008 are automotive, building and technical parts. Market penetration of WPC in their main application, decking, is less than 5%. Many participants consider that the penetration of WPC could go up to 15%, similar to the U.S. decking market. The penetration of NFC in automotive applications is slightly higher, but continues to be below 10%. Companies involved in the automotive NFC market think that from now on it would be more difficult to increase market penetration in this sector, since most OEMs already use them. However, while the NFC automotive market is developed in Europe, other regions could provide more growth. Moreover, most OEMs use NFC in just one model and good performance would encourage them to implement its use more widely. Growth opportunities abound for NRPC in Europe. Ultimately, however, suppliers will have to concentrate on raising public awareness and product development to boost market penetration in existing segments and open up new opportunities. If injection-moulded parts made with NRPC are successful, the potential for market penetration will certainly increase, as the number of possible applications will grow significantly. In anticipation of future market demands, NRPC market participants are developing new materials, using thermoset resins and even bioplastics, and new processing techniques, like injection moulding.